Not having to deal with pesky wires. The freedom to place the device anywhere inside or outside the home. These are some reasons to choose a wire-free security camera.
But these battery-powered cameras are not as affordable as wired versions. A pair of the latest Arlo Pro 3 cameras from market leader Arlo, for instance, costs $899. Even a cheaper alternative like D-Link's two-pack DCS-2802KT wire-free kit costs over $400.
These prices make the latest Ring Stick Up Cam Battery ($179 each) seem like a bargain.
It ticks all the requirements for a home security camera: motion alerts on your smartphone, motion-triggered video recordings, two-way audio, night vision and even a siren.
But its cylindrical plastic build - which looks like a can of coffee - does not look as attractive as some of its competitors.
It comes with a circular base that lets it stand upright, so you can place it on a bookshelf or a desk. You can also mount the camera to a wall by removing and re-attaching the removable base to the side of the cylindrical body and screwing it to the wall.
However, a ceiling mount (sold separately) is required if you wish to attach the camera to the ceiling.
Its removable battery should last several months, depending on your usage. To ensure there is no downtime for the camera, consider buying a second battery at $59.
The companion Ring mobile app (available for iOS and Android) walks you through the installation process with helpful video tutorials.
What I like about the Ring is its privacy zone feature. Using the app, you can highlight areas in the camera's view, such as your neighbour's doorway, that you do not wish to record or monitor. These areas will appear blacked out in the videos.
Its 1080p recording feature is adequate for most users, though it obviously loses out to the higher-end Arlo models that offer 2K and even 4K resolution.
But the Ring's motion detection feature is spot on. The motion sensitivity can be tweaked in the app settings, though I had no false alarms in my week-long testing at the default setting.
If you have a variety of Ring smart home devices, you can link them in the app to make them work together.
For instance, set the Stick Up Cam to start recording the view of the front door only if someone presses the doorbell on Ring's video doorbell. Thus, you can turn off the camera's motion-triggered video recording feature, which should conserve the battery.
While you can stream live video and receive real-time motion alerts for free, the motion-triggered video recording function, which uploads the videos to Ring's cloud server, is free only for the first 30 days.
Subsequently, it requires a subscription that costs US$3 (S$4.19) monthly or US$30 annually. The videos are available online for 60 days and can be shared or downloaded. There is no option for local storage, unlike some security cameras.
Unsurprisingly, the Amazon-owned Ring camera works only with the Amazon Alexa voice assistant, which is not supported in Singapore. But you are not missing much - Alexa's main function here is to show the camera's live feed on an Amazon smart display upon request.
With its decent performance and ease of use, the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery is a good affordable option for a wire-free camera.
FOR
Relatively affordable for a wire-free camera
Good motion detection
Privacy zones
User-friendly app
AGAINST
Subscription required for cloud storage
Does not support Google Assistant
Siren could be louder, has to be manually activated
SPECS
Price: $179
Video resolution: Up to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels
Field of view: 130 degrees diagonal
Night vision: Yes
Motion detection: Yes
Mobile apps: iOS and Android
RATING
Features: 4/5
Design: 3.5/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
